Towel dispensing cabinet



Aug. 5, 1941. D R. G. BIRR ETAL 2,251,818

TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET Original Filed Aug. 17, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 5, 1941. 3 BIRR ETAL 2,251,818

vTOWEL DISPENSING CABI NET Original Filed Aug. 17, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 5, 1941 TOWEL D ISP ENSING CABINET Rudolph G. Birr, Lombard, and Albert C. Grunwald, River Forest, 111., assignors to Steiner Sales Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, a corporation of Utah Original application August 17, 1938, Serial No.

225,398. Divided and this application December 7, 1939, Serial No. 307,948

10 Claims. (Cl. 312--38) This invention relates to improvements in dispensing cabinet constructions and is divisional of our copending application Serial No. 225,398, filed August 17, 1938, for Towel dispensing cabinet.

Objects of the invention are: To provide an improved door locking or latching mechanism in which the keepers for the door lock are carried by a removable inner unit and/or in which the keepers are formed by slots in which a roller element of a dispensing mechanism (mounted on the unit) is journaled for adjustment in a direction perpendicular to its axis; to provide a latch ing mechanism to hold a door in closed position and in which the latches are slidably held between elements which are used to connect a removable inner dispensing mechanism-carrying unit to the outer casing of the cabinet; and to provide simple and effective details of construction relating to the carrying out of the above mentioned objects.

Construction features of the invention include: The scheme by which the door latches are assembled and held in slidable relation, and the device by which guide slots of a pinch-roll act as keepers for a latch bar to hold a door of the cabinet closed.

Objects, features and advantages of the invention will also appear in the description of the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, and in said drawings- Figure l is a front view of the open cabinet as before introduction of toweling;

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section on line 22 of Figure 1 showing the construction of the door latch and the scheme for mounting it for translation and also showing how the mounting slot for the pinch-roll acts as a keeper for the door-securing latch bar;

Figure 3 is a front View partly in section, further illustrating the door latch and its mounting means; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the door latch.

In the drawings, numeral I generally designates the outer casing having sides 2 and 3 rounded at their tops and bottoms. The bottom of the casing l is indicated at 4. The numeral 5 indicates what is herein designated as a bottom door and this door is hinged as at 6 to the bottom 4 of the cabinet. This door closes about one-half of the front opening of the cabinet and forms part of the bottom and has at its upper end projections 8 which are engageable by latches generally designated 9. These latches and their mounting means are described later in more detail. Numeral l0 indicates an upper door or cover which forms part of the top and closes about one-half of the front opening. 'This top door It laps and covers the latching projections 8 of the lower door and the heads of the latches. The lower edge l2 of the upper door and the upper edge [3 of the lower door are so formed as to define when closed a dispensing slot or opening downwardly and outwardly through which the toweling extends.

In this embodiment of the invention there is an inner unit which is detachably secured in the outer casing by means not shown, and the unit includes a pair of side plates respectively designated 20, 2|. Each plate has at its front vertical edge a vertically extending flange 28 which is outturned, and each side of the outer casing has an inturned flange 29 with which the corresponding flange of the plate overlaps. The flanges 23, 29 (see Figure 2) have openings 30, 3!, the latter threaded, and there are screws 32 passing through the openings to secure the flanges together as shown. There are preferably two or three screws used for each lapped pair of flanges. It is noted that the plates 20, 2| are spaced inwardly from the corresponding sides 2, 3 of the cabinet, the right plate being spaced a greater distance to provide for the reception of a timestop mechanism. 2

In the preferred form of the invention the dispensing mechanism includes parts which are mounted on the two plates 20, 2| described. This mechanism includes a pair of rollers having their axes arranged substantially in the same horizontal plane. The front roll is indicated at 40 and is called the measuring roll. The back take-up drive roll is not shown but it operates a soiled towel take-up roll 42 by frictional engagement with the toweling t3 thereon. The rolls are suitably journaled in the plates. Each roll has at one end a sprocket gear which lies at the outer side of plate 29 or at that side nearest the side wall 2 of the cabinet. These gears (see Figure 2) are designated 46, l! and are connected by a sprocket chain 48 by which means they operate in unison so that after the toweling loop is formed and adjusted at the time of loading the cabinet, this loop is maintained by causing the same amount of soiled toweling to be taken up, as is pulled out by the user.

At the opposite side of the unit (see Figure 1) and at the outer side of plate 2! is a time-stop mechanism generally indicated at 61, and operated by and in turn controlling the measuring roll to limit the amount of toweling Withdrawn, and allowing withdrawal only at timed intervals. The

specific construction of this mechanism is not claimed herein but is claimed in our copending application Serial No. 225,398, for Towel dispensing cabinet, of which this application is a division.

Associated with the measuring roll 46} is a roll I known as a pinch roll (see Figures 2 and 4). This roll is vertically movable in slots IOI of the plates 20, 2| to permit proper introduction of the towel. Upper narrower parts I02 of the slots IOI of the plates are utilized as keepers for a latch bar I03 and for an arm I06 of a lock I01 (see Figure 1) This bar I03 has one end reciprocable in a guide I04, and this end engages the slot portion I02. The opposite end of the bar is pivoted as at I05 to the arm I06 fixed for rotation with part of the lock generally indicated at I01. With a key the lock may be rotated to rotate the arm I06 and move the bar I03 and the arm I06 from their keeper slots I02 of the unit. It is noted that the slots are in the plates 20, 2I which are part of the removable unit and the lower parts of these slots act as guides for the journals for the pinch roll.

We believe it new to in part produce what may be termed a streamlined cabinet, a very neat cabinet, by'having a unit separable from the outer casing and upon which all the dispensing mechanism is mounted, and at the same time to utilize parts of said unit as a keeper or keepers for holding the door closed. We also believe ourselves the first to have a lock on the door control locking elements to cooperate with keepers on a separable unit, to hold the door closed.

The latching scheme for the door is a feature, as well as the scheme by which latches generally indicated at 9 are mounted. Referring to Figures 2 to 4, it is noted that each front flange 29 of the casing has therein an inwardly pressed flat portionl45 (see Figure 2) which slidably receives the shank Hit of the latch. When the unit is in place and the front flange 28 of the unit overlaps the front flange of the side wall of the casing, the latch is held for translation between the flanges. The latch head I46 has a notch I41 which engages the extension 8 of the lower door when the latter is closed. The head I46 loosely traverses a slot I49 in the flange 28. These latches 9 are assembled when the unit is introduced into the casing and so that the outturned vertical flanges of the side plates of the unit overlap the inturned vertical flanges of the side casing. The flange 23 of the plate 2I (see Figure 1) on the right hand side of the cabinet is broader" than the corresponding left hand flange and is cut out as at I50 and flange 29 is also cut out, so that some of the elements of the vacuum timer can be seen when the bottom door is opened.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the top door is hinged by a pair of arcuate members I55, each having one end I50 fixed to the door, and each member having its inner end pivoted as at I58 to the side wall of the outer casing.

Referring to Figure 1, which shows the cabinet open and ready for servicing. It will be understood that after servicing the lower door is first brought upwardly and the elements 8 are engaged by the latches 9. Then the upper door is brought downwardly to closed position and a key then operates the elements I03 and I06 to cause the keepers to enter the slots I02 (see Figure 2). When the door I0 is closed it overlaps the elements 8 and hides the elements 9, and thus only the centrally located delivery opening (formed by the lower edge of the upper door and the prevent opening of the door.

2. A towel dispensing cabinet having a dispensing mechanism including a measuring roll and a pinch-roll therefor, said cabinet having walls having slots in which the pinch-roll is journalled and which allow the roll to be moved away from the measuring roll, a door for the cabinet, and a latch bar on the door having a portion engageable with an extension of one of said slots as a keeper to prevent opening of the door, and a lock on the door having a part engaging the other slot as a keeper and means by which the lock operates the latch bar to move said bar and part into or out of latching relation with said slots.

3. In a dispensing cabinet, an outer casing having flanges, an inner unit separable from the casing and upon which the dispensing mechanism is mounted, and having flanges overlapping those of the outer casing, a door for the casing hinged thereto, latches engageable with means on the door for securing said door in closed position, each latch being slidably mounted between a pair of lapped flanges respectively on the outer casing and on the inner unit.

4. In a dispensing cabinet having walls and a pinch-roll journalled in slots in said walls for permitting the pinch-roll to be moved from pinching position, a door for the cabinet and means for locking the door including elements on the door engageable with extensions of said slots.

5. In a cabinet for dispensing sheet material, a dispensing mechanism including a roll, said cabinet having walls having slots in which said roll is journalled and is adjustable in a direction substantially perpendicular to its axis of rotation, a door for the cabinet and a latch on the door having a portion engageable with one of the slots as a keeper to hold the door closed.

' 6. In a cabinet for dispensing sheet material, an inner unit having keepers thereon, a door for the cabinet, a lock on the door having a keycontrolled rotatable element, which element has a two-armed cross-piece thereon, one arm of which is adapted to engage one of the keepers;

a slidable bar pivoted to the other arm of said 7 cross-piece and adapted to engage the other keeper whereby said rotatable element can be keycontrolled to move the cross-piece and its associated elements into or out of engagement with the keepers.

'7. In a cabinet for dispensing sheet material, said cabinet having a door, an inner unit and means detachably securing it within the cabinet, said unit including two plates spaced transversely and in which rotatable portions of the dispensing mechanism are journalled, each plate having a keeper, a lock on the door having a key-controlled rotatable element, which element has a two-armed cross-piece thereon, one arm of which is adapted to engage one of the keepers, and a slidable bar pivoted tothe other arm of said cross-piece and adapted to engage the other keeper, whereby said rotatable element can be keycontrolled to move the cross-piece and its associated elements into or out of engagement with the keepers.

8. A dispensing cabinet comprising an outer casing, a dispensing unit within the casing, means releasably securing the unit to the outer casing, said cabinet having a door hinged to the outer casing and said unit including side plates and having keepers, and said door having lock-controlled latching means engageable with said keepers.

9. A cabinet for dispensing sheet material comprising an outer casing and an inner unit including two side plates, means detachably securing the side plates within the outer casing, a dispensing mechanism on the side plates including a pinch roll, said plates having slots in which said roll is journaled and which are adapted to act as keepers, said cabinet having a door hinged to the outer casing, latch means on the door adapted to engage said slots, and means for looking the latch means.

10. A dispensing cabinet comprising an outer casing, a dispensing unit within the casing, means releasably securing the unit to the outer casing, said cabinet having a door hinged to the outer casing and said unit including side plates having slots therein, and said door having latching means engageable with said slots as keepers, each slot being continuous with a corresponding slot which forms a journal for a roll which is part of a dispensing mechanism carried by said unit, said latching means including a first lock-controlled arm engageable with one of the slots, and a bar pivoted to the first arm and operable thereby to be engaged with the other slot.

RUDOLPH G. BIRR. ALBERT C. GRUNWALD. 

